Unexpected Boarders
by RunFromTheMedic
Summary: Aria has been living alone for a long time, occasionally with boarders though they were rare and never stayed long. While she was cleaning, she found a box of transformer toys her parents had planned to give her before they died. When they come to life, she has to take care of them until Wheeljack can send them home. Her boarders a mixed blessing? Or just sent to drive her crazy?
1. Memories

**Prologue: Memories**

_A young girl ran down the steps from the second floor two at a time, grinning from ear to ear. Her amber colored eyes glinted with excitement and the innocence only the young and naïve possess as she zipped through the hall and kitchen, stopping only to inhale the scents from the garden outside. _

_Her grin grew even wider. The garden was something her mother toiled in daily, creating a fairy tale world of flowers and plants that surrounded the back of the mansion like house. The scents and colors had a mystery to them that matched her mother perfectly, with her hazel eyes that seemed to know so much and musical voice. The shadows would always seem to swirl around her in the garden, dancing around her as she moved. Her father always said she looked like her mother with her ink black hair that fell down her back in a braid, and Indian bone structure and complexion. The thought that she looked like the beautiful woman always thrilled her._

_The child snapped back to the present as she remembered why she had come down stairs in the first place. Continuing her race to the main family room, she turned on the television yelling as loud as she could, "Daddy! Hurry up! It's going to start soon!" before she plopped down on the couch. She was already enthralled by the theme song to the Transformers Generation 1 series by the time the man walked into the room, grinning lopsidedly as leaned against the wall._

"_You started without me!" he growled in mock anger. His voice was always deep and strong, flowing easily like water she found in a stream in the woods nearby. In her opinion, it fit perfectly with the strength of his arms as they came around her on the couch and the softened onyx eyes that gazed down at her. Grinning, she leaned into his warm, hard chest and looked straight up at him through the fringe of bangs that covered her forehead and framed the sides of her face._

"_You were moving to slow! You know transformers are my favorite!"_

"_I know my darling, I know. I introduced them to you after all." He smirked as he said this, tweaking the end of her braid as he did so. She laughed when he held it up to his upper lip and gave himself a mustache._

"_Daddy, stop that! I want to watch the show."_

"_Alright alright. Yesh. Can't a guy have any fun around here? Only six years old and already you're telling me what to do." He huffed in mock indignation before settling back against the couch with his daughter to watch the rest of the show._

_As the credits for the show played out she looked up at her father again with a thoughtful look. She gained his attention when she cocked her head to the side in her thoughts._

"_What? Did your mother dye my hair pink when I took a nap again? I forgot to check."_

_She laughed at that. "No. She only does that when you're being a jackass."_

_He looked at her sharply. "Who told you that?"_

_She frowned, slightly confused. "Uncle Joker. When I asked him why your hair was pink before, he said it was payback for being a jackass. Isn't that right?"_

_A small smile crept onto his face. "In a way. I'm going to have a talk with 'Uncle' Joker when he gets back."_

"_Daddy, stop smiling like that. It's creepy."_

_He ruffled her hair absently and he hummed a response. "If my hair isn't pink or any other color for that matter, what were you looking at?"_

"_I was thinking."_

"_About…?" _

"_You, Uncle Joker, and the others are like the bots on Transformers." Her blunt statement startled him some._

"_What makes you say that?"_

"_You're all soldiers. You go on missions. You're a front liner like the twins, Aunt Lynx in known as the medic of doom and Uncle Frequency thinks everything's out to get him so he's always watching his security monitors. He's pa-ra-no-i-d." she sounded out slowly "You all act funny like the Autobots too."_

"…_. In a way we are. We fight to try to keep others safe. Our craziness matches theirs in a way as well. Well, their craziness. I'm not going to lower myself to their level of stupid, but war does change people." he smiled down at her and cocked an eyebrow._

"_You better not let 'Aunt' Lynx know that the others got you to start calling her the medic of doom. She'll hunt them down with her trusty dart gun and the wrench she stole from the mechanics room."_

_She giggled at the thought of her 'Aunt' chasing everyone around like she did during Christmas, yelling something in Spanish about __**Hell generó cabezas de mierda.**_

"_I promise."_

"_And if she asks you directly?"_

_She answered without missing a beat. "I keep her guessing until she offers me a decent enough bribe."_

_Her father stared down at her for nearly five minutes, a funny look on his face. He finally closed his eyes and shook his head, mumbling something about restricting visiting time with her aunts and uncles in his unit._


	2. Maybe I Am Crazy

**Chapter 1: Maybe I Am Crazy**

Aria awoke in the dark, a bittersweet smile on her face. She rolled over and looked at the clock on her bedside table. Six twenty two. She had managed to sleep in, an impressive feat on her part. She slept very little in the past two years and her early rising habits had her up and hour or two at least before the sun began to rise.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom thinking back to her dream, or more accurately her memory. That memory was one of the last she had of her family when she still felt warm and protected. When she had felt the love that they had heaped on her in abundance. When the cruel reality of life hadn't reared its ugly head to completely shatter the innocence of a seven year old child.

She shook her head to rid those thoughts from her mind. The past was the past and dwelling on things she couldn't change would do nothing but depress her. Rising, she dressed for the day in a green sari wrap and loose long sleeve cotton shirt in the same green color bringing out some of the tan color in her Indian complexion. They were large on her, making her already slight frame look even more delicate and fragile. Most clothing did and it irked her to no end. She pulled her ink black hair into a tight pony tail, then binding it quickly into a thick braid that fell to her lower back. Her bangs were left to cover her forehead though they parted slightly off center, before getting longer on the sides and framing her face. She slipped a pair of what looked like gray slippers on her small feet to complete the ensemble and looked in a mirror that sat over her dresser, the bittersweet smile back on her face.

At age seventeen, except for the amber colored eyes, she was the mirror image of what her mother looked like when she planned to spend the day at home doing chores or housework. Her mother would scrub or clean nearly half of the mansion like house by the afternoon and then spend the rest of the day tending to a garden that seemed to become a world of its own. The garden and house have been tended by her careful hand for the last ten years but it never felt the same as it did back them. It felt…..hollow.

With one last look in the mirror she headed downstairs to start the baking for the week and make herself breakfast.

* * *

It was nearly two in the afternoon when she finally stopped in her cleaning of the second floor. Sitting back on her heel, she glared at the tile she had been scrubbing as she rubbed at the spot between her eyes, trying to soothe the ache building there. The boarders that lived in the house with her had been away for nearly four months now but they still left their messes behind. It was infuriating. After giving the spot one last glare, she gathered her cleaning supplies and headed downstairs to the utility closet to put the things away.

Once all of the supplies were put away, she was just about to close the door when a large box on the top shelf caught her eye. A frown creased her brow in her confusion. Getting the step ladder, she brought the large box down and into the living room, grunting under its heavy weight.

For a while she just stared at the box, afraid that it would blow up or something. Her borders did rig traps for each other when they got bored or annoyed. After a few tense minutes, she knelt down and inspected it, finding a letter tucked in between the flaps. When she opened the letter she choked on the air she had just taken. The handwriting was her fathers.

_Aria,_

_Your mother and I have to go on a mission soon. We don't know the exact time just that it's soon. Even thought you do a really good job at hiding it, we can tell you always get tense when we have to so that's why we waited to tell you. If you're reading this, then we had to leave while you were at school and didn't get to tell you goodbye. The ones in the box will keep you company while we are gone. We love you my dearest. We will miss you every day._

_Dad_

Her hands trembled slightly before she regained control as she held the letter to her chest for a moment or two. Her parents had never had the chance to go on the mission so it made sense that the box was never put out for her to find. Gently she opened the box only to be met with the Transformers G1 Autobot action figures. The gesture of what her parents got her and the obsession that she had still to curb in the show over the years made her grin like an idiot. Slowly and with great care, she lifted the bots out and set them up on the floor.

Optimus Prime

Ratchet

Prowl

Jazz

Sunstreaker

Sideswipe

Bluestreak

Wheeljack

Red Alert

Blaster

Ultra Magnus

Sentinal Prime

Cliffjumper

Hound

Mirage

First Aid

Jolt

Ironhide

Bumblebee

Elita 1

Chromia

Moonracer

Firestar

Flareup

Arcee

Grimlock

Swoop

Sludge

Snarl

Slag

Once they were all set up, she sat back on her heel. All in all she had thirty Autobots. The thought still made her giddy. She had been a huge fan of the show since her father first introduced her to it when she was four.

She was brought back from lala land when she heard a soft mew and felt something patting at her thigh. She looked down into the green eyes of the calico cat that began gently gnawing on her leg to get a point across.

"Hungry are you?" she said with a slight laugh. The copper and black colored cats' only reply was a louder meow and the tug of her pants leg in the direction of the kitchen.

"You act as if you're starving Jinx." she chuckled slightly. The cat had been her constant companion for three years now and sometimes she forgot that the cat wasn't human and would hold complete conversations with her on a daily basis. The fact that the cat replied like a human would with her meows and body language didn't help matters any.

"Alright, I'll go get your dinner, but one thing first." The cat looked at her in annoyance and swished her tail as if to say get on with it.

"Those toys in there are not to be played with Jinx. I mean it. They're special." She eyed the cat sternly. "Do you understand?"

The cat lowered its ears slightly and made the cat version of the puppy dog eyes. When the stern look never faded from Aria's face the cat 'hmphed' and nodded its head once. Aria's face softened immediately.

"Let's go get you your dinner. I don't suppose you would help me get rid of the left over salmon would you?" She laughed full out as the cat attached itself to her leg and began meowing in what sounded like a happy voice.

With the cat attached firmly to her leg, she limped to the kitchen and made her way to the fridge to get the salmon. Once she pried the feline off her person she managed to put it into her food bowl without loosing her hand. She sat and watched the cat eat with the gusto of the starving and felt her once sullen mood lift some. The doctor that boarded with her made her take psych tests all the time when she found out that she talked to the cat. So what if her head was slightly off? After a childhood like hers and being left alone for most of the time after, she had every right to talk to Jinx like a person it she wanted. It's not like it meant she was crazy after all.

The sound of a small explosion made her jump nearly three feet in the air. After her original shock, she checked the security monitors that were installed on the wall of the kitchen. None of her alarms had gone off and no one was on her property at all. Once she had reassured herself that she wasn't being attacked, she made her way towards the sound of the explosion. One of the boarder's traps must have gone off. They set a lot of those when they got annoyed with each other. One of the down sides of boarding soldiers.

Her concern rose as she realized that the explosion happened in the main living room. She quickened her pace as she went to see if the toys were all right. Once she reached the doorway she froze in shock. The lifeless toys she had found moments ago were clustered around in groups _talking_ to each other and watching an angry mech with a wrench chased another mech with head fins flashing in distress.

"I'm sorry!" Wheeljack yelled. "I didn't think it would explode!" That only seemed to make Ratchet even angrier.

"They ALWAYS explode you dumbaft! When I get my servos on you I'm going to reconfigure you into a toaster!"

Aria silently slumped to the floor and sat on her knees. None of the bots noticed her as she rubbed her eyes and then pinched herself. When the sight before her didn't go away, she just stared dumbly, with only one thought running through her head.

_I take it back….Maybe I am crazy._


	3. New Boarders

**Chapter 2: New Boarders**

The gathered bots watched as Ratchet chased Wheeljack with intentions of offlining. None of them made a move to stop him and honestly, a few of them wanted to join him. Prowl looked ready to glitch and Red Alert was not far behind in the state of panic he was working himself up in, despite the attempts of Jolt and First Aid at calming him. None of them knew what Wheeljack did to them, or better yet, where he put them. All they really knew at the moment was that this sure as pit wasn't Cybertron, and that they were slagging small.

Optimus Prime rubbed his nasal ridge and sighed through his vents at the predicament Wheeljack had put them in. Most of the engineers' inventions ended up exploding and causing some kind of massive damage, but this was something new altogether. According to what Wheeljack said before Ratchet had brought out the wrench, he had sent them to another dimension. The only bots that seemed to be taking it in stride were Jazz, Hound, and Blaster, mainly because Hound wanted to see about the organic life, and nothing seemed to ruffle Jazz and Blaster.

"Can you believe it that we got sent to another dimension I mean Wheeljack had never done something like this before and were so small in this place do you think that we should start scouting or should we stay together I mean we don't really know what is in this place and we need to be careful but we do need to find out where we are and…!" Bluestreak's rambling was cut short when Ironhide clamped a servo over his mouth.

"Enough already! It's bad enough tha' wer' stuck here without yah talkin' our audio receptors off." He growled shooting a glare at the blue bot that was about to open his mouth. He shrunk back instantly. "Same goes fur you Blurr."

A laugh sounded from his left. "Yah can't really 'spect 'im ta stap now can yah Hide?" Ironhide turned and glared at Jazz.

"Leave Bluestreak and Blurr alone Ironhide. Scaring them isn't going to help matters." Moonracer broke in. Ironhide was about to say something else but Chromia gave him a pointed look and he quieted down, save for a few grumbles.

All attention was given to Ratchet and Wheeljack when they heard a crash. Apparently one of Ratchet's wrenches missed and hit something on one of the huge tables.

"Get back here you pit spawned glitch head!"

"I said I was sorry. The test run went smoothly so I thought it would be okay to set it up for re- OW!" he was cut short as a wrench connected with his helm. Ratchet just subspaced another wrench and took aim. In desperation, Wheeljack took a running dive to avoid the projectile, tangling himself in a net-like blanket hanging off of a large sofa and landing in the lap of the organic sitting in the doorway.

Everybot froze when they realized what happened, stances set and braced for a fight. The fact that they had not noticed her until now only added to there tension. The organic simply looked down at Wheeljack with and unreadable expression, making him squirm in an attempt to free himself. His attempts however made it worse.

The organics expression softened into something like amusement and her lips quirked. Unconsciously, the others relaxed at her change of expression. She reached down and began helping Wheeljack untangle himself. When his thrashing started to interfere, she poked him gently in the chassis to get his attention.

"If you stop thrashing, this would go much quicker." she said in a gentle voice. Immediately the thrashing stopped and the mech looked up at her with sheepish optics, head fins flashing pink in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I panicked."

"From what I've seen so far, I can't blame you." she said with another look of amusement on her face. After a few more minutes Wheeljack was untangled and she placed him gently on the floor.

He lifted a servo to rub the new dents in his helm, before looking up at her excitedly.

"Thanks for that! They would've left me like that for a while since they're angry. I'm Wheeljack, nice to meet you." he said, head fins flashing a happy blue along to his cheerful voice.

* * *

Aria continued to look at the bots gathered in her living room. They didn't look to happy, and she really couldn't blame them. Prowl had sparks coming out of his head and his right optic was twitching. Red Alert was panicking while First Aid approached him quietly from behind with a syringe. Ironhide looked ready to shoot something. None of them seemed to notice her sitting on her knees in the doorway.

A loud crash was heard and she looked up. Apparently one of the angry medic's wrenches missed its target.

"Get back here you pit spawned glitch head!" His angry yelling only made Wheeljack run faster.

"I said I was sorry! The test run went smoothly so I thought it would be okay to set it up for re- OW!" he was cut short as a wrench connected with his helm. Ratchet just subspaced another wrench and took aim. In what looked like a last ditch effort, he dived out of the way of the wrench, only to get tangled in the summer blanket she had laid out on the side of the couch. His momentum sent him crashing straight into her lap.

All of the bots froze. Apparently noticing someone was in the room with them and watching made them tense. Only Wheeljack moved, and that was only to tangle himself up further in the blanket.

She smiled in amusement. He reminded her of Jinx when she was playing with a yarn ball. She started to untangle one of his arms, but his thrashing only made the yarn tighter. In annoyance she poked his chassis.

"If you stop thrashing, this would go much quicker." she said in a gentle voice. Immediately the thrashing stopped and the mech looked up at her with sheepish optics, head fins flashing pink in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I panicked."

She laughed a little at that. "From what I've seen so far, I can't blame you." After a few more minutes he was completely untangled. Gently, she set him down on the floor.

He lifted a servo to rub the new dents in his helm, before looking up at her excitedly.

"Thanks for that! They would've left me like that for a while since they're angry. I'm Wheeljack, nice to meet you." he said, head fins flashing a happy blue along to his cheerful voice. Her smile grew wider. He was like a happy six year old. She decided then that if he was one of her hallucinations, she wouldn't mind. She might even take her medication more often.

"It's nice to meet you as well..." she tilted her head to the side. Optimus walked up next.

"Thank you for helping Wheeljack."

"No problem."

"Could you please tell us where we are?" he asked politely. She nodded after a moment.

"Montana, United States." At his confused look she added, "Planet Earth."

At that they all seemed to perk up. From the shows, most of the mech had been to earth. The femmes probably knew about it from the mechs.

Cliffjumper didn't seem to take it very well. "So were on Earth. Big fraggin' deal. Why the scrap are we small?"

The twins scoffed at that. "You were small to begin with." Sunstreaker sneered. His twin just started laughing. The red minicon snarled something in cybertronian at the two that only made them laugh harder. Cliffjumper then decided it would be a good idea to jump them. They landed in a withering heap on the floor, yelling profanities and attempting to rip the others limb off.

Ironhide, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, Jazz, and Ratchet all attempted to pull the three apart. This only resulted in them getting pulled into the fight themselves when the twins landed a kick to Ironhide's chassis and Ratchet's helm. Now it was Jazz, Prowl, and Ultra Magnus attempting to hold back Ratchet and Ironhide as they lunged at the twins.

The fight went on for another few minutes, the noise level growing dramatically and adding to the ache already present in Aria's head. As the pain made her eye start twitching, she decided she had had enough. Getting up, she walked out of the room and to the kitchen, followed by a worried looking Wheeljack and femme group.

"We didn't make you angry did we?" Wheeljack asked tentatively. Aria looked down at him and the femmes. It looked like they wanted to ask the same thing.

"No. I'm not angry, though I am tired of the fighting. It's making my head ache worse."

All of them watched as she got a large cup and a spray bottle from a cabinet and filled them with water. Chuckles came from the group of femmes. They had an idea of what Aria was planning.

When they walked back into the living room the mechs were still fighting. The Dinobots apparently decided to join in minus Swoop and Snarl. None of them noticed when Aria and the others walked back into the room or when Aria tried to get their attention.

"Excuse me." The fighting continued.

"Excuse me." she said a bit louder. Still nothing.

"Excuse me!" Nada. With a sigh she walked up and dumped the entire contents of the cup on top of the fighting mechs. They stopped instantly. Aria walked quietly back to her position in the doorway and knelt back down while the thoroughly drenched mechs sputtered and cursed. Most of them looked like they would move to attack her at any moment. At a command from Optimus, they reluctantly calmed down. The mechs who were still dry just stared. The femmes however, started to laugh.

"My apologies. I tried to get your attention but you wouldn't stop fighting. You weren't helping my head ache either. Now can you please explain to me how you all came to be here? I'm already having trouble with my mind without seeing a group of toys coming to life."

Optimus stepped forward. "What do you mean toys coming to life?'

"Until about and hour ago, all of you were lifeless figurines that I had just found in one of the closets. I went to the kitchen and heard and explosion. When I came back in here, all of you were alive and Ratchet was trying to offline Wheeljack."

Ratchet gave her a startled look. "How do you know my name?" he asked bewildered.

"I told you. You all were toys. In this world, Transformers is a child's cartoon. I recognize most of you from the shows."

"So Wheeljack sent us to another dimension where we don't really exist?" Elita1 asked hesitantly. They all turned to look at Wheeljack.

"…opps?"

All optics turned to Aria as she started laughing. At all of there perplexed expression she attempted to get herself under control. She almost succeeded. She couldn't quite stop the giggles from escaping.

"Sorry. Wheeljack just reminds me of an old friend of mine I haven't seen in a long time. I'll need to make the house more accessible for all of you."

They all turned to her in surprise. Prowl was the first one to speak.

"You'll allow us to stay here?

Looking around, she mentally made a list of changes that she would need to make to the house.

"Of course you can stay. Where else would you go?"

_Primus is either laughing at me or testing me. Either way, it looks like I have new boarders._


	4. Introductions Gone Awry

**Chapter 3: Introductions Gone Awry**

"_Of course you can stay. Where else would you go?"_

All of the bots openly stared at her. As far as she was concerned, they were just toys that came to life in her living room (thank you Wheeljack) and she didn't even know their name. And yet she was offering them a place to stay without a second thought.

"Thank you. You are being very kind." said Optimus.

"You are free to stay here as long as you need," she paused for a moment before pointedly looking at Wheeljack. "As long as my house stays standing."

"I can assure you that we will make sure that Wheeljack doesn't blow your house to the pit." Ratchet broke in, sending a glare at the engineer.

"We haven't introduced ourselves. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. This is my SIC and tactician, Prowl." Prowl stepped forward and nodded his helm.

"My TIC and Head of Special Ops, Jazz."

Jazz stepped forward and gave a bow. "Nice ta meet yah!"

"My Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet and his apprentices First Aid and Jolt." All three inclined there helms in acknowledgment.

"My Weapon Specialist, Ironhide."

"Femme."

"My Head of Security, Red Alert." Red Alert was currently sedated and restrained on the floor between the two apprentice medics. This resulted in a sigh from the commanding officers and snickers from the others.

"You must forgive him. He has a glitch and some paranoia." Optimus excused. Ratchet just snorted.

"He has more that _**some**_ paranoia." Optimus just choose to ignore him and continued introducing the rest of the Autobots, in the process failing to notice a very angry and very wet Slag approaching her. At least until he gave a roar and set her shirt sleeve on fire.

Aria jerked backwards as she felt a burning pain lance up her arm. Looking down she saw the flames licking at her shirt sleeve. Frantically, she grabbed the sleeve and ripped it off at the elbow, then flung it to the wet spot on the floor from where she dowsed the fighting mechs. The Autobots nearby scrambled to put out the fire.

She hissed and she held her burned forearm close to her chest. The throbbing pain was intense, but she was used to pain. In comparison to what she experience on a regular basis, it was actually mild.

She watched as the fire was put out and Wheeljack ran up to Slag. He was simply knocked out of the way with a swish of a tail.

"She make me Slag wet!" he all but roared. Despite the attempts of the other Dinobots and surrounding Autobots, he came toward her, opening his mouth to once again set her on fire.

Aria calmly picked up the water bottle and squirted it directly into his open mouth. He promptly fell to the floor gagging. He was quickly restrained and sedated.

Gripping her burned arm once again, she surveyed the remaining bots with hard eyes, mainly the Dinobots.

"Are anymore of you going to attack me? If so, at least let me draw a bull's eye on my forehead. It should be easier to hit." she said dryly. The Dinobots for their part looked somewhat guilty.

Feeling a tug at her shirt, she glanced down into the worried optics of Moonracer and equally worried Ratchet.

"Let me see your arm." he said gruffly. Sighing, she released her arm and allowed him access to it. The burn itself wasn't pretty. The fabric of her shirt had kept it from charring, but that was all it did. Her arm was an angry red, running from wrist to elbow. The palm of her hand was also singed from when she grabbed her sleeve. It was already starting to blister in some places. The few scars on that part of her arm stood out like vicious white slashes.

Aria hissed as Ratchet touched the abused skin but kept her arm still for him and Moonracer to inspect. Wheeljack leaned over her worriedly, optics widening at the damage done to her skin.

"Oh Primus! I'm sorry! Slag is violent but I didn't think he would attack you just because you got him wet!" he exclaimed.

Aria simply closed here eyes for a moment and sighed, keeping her face carefully composed.

"It's fine Wheeljack. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?! He all but burned the skin off your arm!"

Turning her attention back to the medic she gently moved her arm out of their reach, once again holding the arm to her torso. Both Moonracer and Ratchet looked pained. Well, Ratchet looked more pissed off. Aria absently wondered if she should hid Slag until he calmed down, but quickly dismissed the idea. From what she knew of the medic, it was that he could hold a grudge for a very long time.

Moonracer was the first to speak up.

"Your arm needs a cooling salve as well as other medications and bandages." she glanced guiltily over at Ratchet. He sighed.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any. At least none that would work on a human."

* * *

_We are so slagged…_

That was the thought that went through everybot's processor as they watched Slag set the human's clothing on fire.

The femme's reflexes and nerves were impressive. They all grudgingly agreed to that. She didn't freak our as her shirt caught fire, though she did jerk backwards. She quickly ripped the burning fabric off and threw it to the wet spot on the floor. The twins, Bluestreak, Blurr, Chromia, Blaster, and Ultra Magnus quickly began putting out the flames as Optimus, Grimlock, Snarl, Swoop, Sludge, Ironhide, Ratchet and Wheeljack attempted to restrain the rampaging Snarl.

Somehow Snarl managed to get past them and once again attempted to reduce the human femme to ash. She surprised them all when she calmly squirted water into his mouth from the other container she brought from whatever room she went to when they were fighting, quickly quenching the flames.

They all rushed to restrain him before he finished clearing the water from his vents. Ratchet quickly sedated him, plus whacking him on the helm with a wrench for good measure.

The human femme stared at all of them with hard optics, lingering longer on the Dinobots, who wilted under her gaze.

"Are anymore of you going to attack me? If so, at least let me draw a bull's eye on my forehead. It should be easier to hit." she said dryly, clutching her burned arm to her chest. Guilt and worry grew through their ranks.

Ratchet and Moonracer swiftly made their way over to here side.

"Let me see your arm." he said gruffly. Sighing and almost reluctantly, she released her arm and allowed him access to it. They both gasped at the extent of her injury. The fabric of her shirt had kept it from charring, but that was all it did. Her arm was an angry red, running from wrist to elbow. The palm of her hand was also singed from when she grabbed her sleeve. It was already starting to blister in some places. The few scars on that part of her arm stood out like vicious white slashes.

The medics were amazed that she could keep such rigid control of herself, despite the agonizing amount of pain she must be in.

She hissed as Ratchet touched the abused skin but kept her arm still for him and Moonracer to inspect. Wheeljack leaned over her worriedly, optics widening at the damage done to her skin.

"Oh Primus! I'm sorry! Slag is violent but I didn't think he would attack you just because you got him wet!" he exclaimed.

She simply closed here eyes for a moment and sighed, keeping her face carefully composed.

"It's fine Wheeljack. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?! He all but burned the skin off your arm!"

Turning her attention back to the medics she gently moved her arm out of their reach, once again holding the arm to her torso. Both Moonracer and Ratchet shared a pained look. Well, Ratchet looked more pissed off.

Moonracer was the first to speak up.

"Your arm needs a cooling salve as well as other medications and bandages." she glanced guiltily over at Ratchet. He sighed.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any. At least none that would work on a human."

"I should have everything, medicine wise, in the kitchen. An upside to having poor health." she mused to herself. She focused once again on the medics. "I'll need help bandaging my arm." she said quietly.

"Of course." They both said at once.

All the bots followed the human femme into the room she called the kitchen. She got out a salve from a cabinet that she very carefully, and most likely very painfully, smeared on here arm. She then handed a role of bandages to Ratchet and Moonracer and sat down so they could have easy access. Then promptly began bandaging her from hand to elbow.

Once they were satisfied with the bandages, they put away the supplies back were the femme got them from.

"You'll need to keep that arm still." Ratchet said sternly. "Any movement could make it worse. It doesn't need any type of strain. The bandages will need to be changed every few cycles." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry I don't have any pain killers that would work for you."

"It's okay. I'll try not to strain my arm to much." The human femme seemed lost in thought for a moment before snapping her attention back towards the gathered bots.

"My name is Aria by the way. You could also call me Nightshade if you'd prefer."

She stood up slowly, ever mindful of her arm.

"I better give you a tour of the house and let you pick the rooms you'll be staying in. You'll have to share." She glanced down at Ratchet.

"You'll also need a med bay."

Everybot was silent for nearly a breem before the sound of something frying and a loud clang filled the room.

Prowl had finally glitched.

* * *

**Hello. This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you all like it. I don't own transformers. Just wanted to get that out there. I do own my oc's Aria (aka Nightshade. You'll see why later) and Jinx (You should meet her in the next chapter or two. Feel free to comment, but don't be offended if I don't reply immediately. I'm still trying to find out how the website works. Thank you for reading!**


	5. Settling In

**Chapter 4: Settling In**

Aria was confused. Prowl had just glitched and some of the bots looked like there processors were fried. She didn't really understand why.

"Umm…did I say something wrong?" she asked hesitantly. Firestar spoke first.

"You're letting us stay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Where else would you stay?" Aria asked, confused.

"You nearly get your arm turned to ash by one of us and you're still letting us stay?!" Cliffjumper asked incredulously. Aria only cocked her head to the side and cocked and eyebrow.

"Does Slag represent all of you?"

"Frag no." Sunstreaker huffed.

"Then I don't see why I should kick you all out when only one of you had poor judgment. Besides, it's not the first time I've been attacked by a boarder."

"What do you mean not the first time you've been attacked by a boarder?" Hound asked.

"The other boarders that have stayed here before were soldiers. They would get into fights all the time and I would have to break them up." she stated glancing down at here bandaged arm. "Though I must admit, this is the worst so far."

Most of them winced at this.

"Well, let me show you around and get you settled in." With that, she led them out of the kitchen and back to the down the hall to the living room. Slag, Red Alert, and Prowl were dragged along by their peds.

"From here, the first room down that hall is mine. The door across from it is a bathroom."

"What's a bathroom?" Blaster asked.

"It's basically a washracks."

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?" Sentinal asked grumpily. Optimus quickly reprimanded him.

"The two doors down that way are bedrooms. The room across from that is the sun room." She pointed out as she opened the doors for them to inspect. The Dinobots were especially interested in the sun room.

The sun room was, like its name, full of sun to accompany the plants that occupied almost every corner. Some were flowering and some looked like ferns or miniature trees.

She watched as Swoop landed in one of the miniature trees, and Grimlock climbed up the wicker couch with difficulty. Once on top, he stomped around proudly.

"Me Grimlock like this room. Me Grimlock claim for Dinobots." He declared. This drew some snide comments from some of the gathered bots and a chuckle from Aria.

"Alright Grimlock. You and the Dinobots can have this room." She said with an amused smile. "Just please don't set the plants on fire."

"Me Grimlock promise!"

* * *

After the Dinobots claimed the sun room, the rest quickly decided on the rooms they would share. Optimus, Jazz, Prowl, Ironhide, Ultra Magnus, and Red Alert were to go into the room the farthest down the hall. The femmes were in the room directly across from Aria's. The bathroom on the bottom floor was designated as the femme's washracks as well.

Upstairs, after much struggling on the bots part, the four bedrooms were also divided. Bluestreak, Blaster, Blurr, and Cliffjumper took the first bedroom on the left. Mirage, Hound, and Bumblebee took the room at the far end of the hallway. Jolt and First Aid got the room directly across from them. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe got the first room on the right, mainly because no one wanted to bunk with them. They didn't mind.

The bathroom on the top floor was designated as the mechs washracks.

In the living room, Aria was conversing with Ratchet and Wheeljack.

"Everyone has a room now. That only leaves a med bay and a place for Wheeljack to work."

Ratchet seemed annoyed. "I have yet to see a decent place for a med bay, and setting Wheeljack up inside the house will result in nothing but disaster."

"Hey!" Wheeljack exclaimed with indignity.

"Oh shut up. You know it's true. You can't go more that a few hours without blowing yourself, or something else, to the pit and back." Ratchet said absently with a wave of his servo.

Aria, who had been lost in though during the exchange, let out an excited 'Ah!'. She turned, motioning for the mechs to follow her down the hall that led to the laundry room. Halfway down, she crouched down and attempted to remove one of the panels on the lower wall. This failed however, when she jarred her injured arm and let out a strangled yelp.

Ratchet and Wheeljack were immediately by her side.

"I told you not to use your injured arm!" Ratchet scolded. Aria only smiled sheepishly at them and motioned to the panel.

"Sorry. I'll do better. Can you both grab a side and help me lift it off?"

They both complied before she could attempt to do it herself again. Once the panel was removed, a two by three foot opening was revealed. It extended about one meter and it was full of dust. A water pipe was located in the far back corner.

Wiping her good hand on her pants, Aria looked to Ratchet for approval.

"It was an old storage space. It's more your size as well. Once it's cleaned out, some furniture is put in, and I set up a proper door, it should do. If this is okay. If not, I can find another place."

Ratchet walked into the old storage unit and looked around, nodding his approval before exiting and walking back toward the living room. Aria and Wheeljack were not far behind.

"This will do just fine. Now we need to find a place for Wheeljack to set up that is relatively expendable."

"I have an idea. There is a shed that is just to the side of the house. It's still within easy reach, but out of range, damage wise." Wheeljack's ear fins flashed a happy blue at the idea of setting up a lab, but his optics kept flickering, and it was not lost on Aria.

"Wheeljack, are you okay?" she asked.

"Mm-fine." he slurred. "Just tired all of a sudden."

Once they reached the living room, the sight of exhausted bots met them. Some of them were already in recharge, sprawled across the floor or the furniture that they had climbed on. Ratchet was looking tired as well.

"We're all low in energy." He stated, sounding surprised at the fact. Wheeljack decided to speak up.

"We went through dimension and got new bodies. Mm surprised tha' we managed ta stay online so far." He slurred, before falling into recharge on his peds. He landed with a loud thunk on his face plates, that made Aria wince.

Only Optimus, Ratchet, Elita 1, and Mirage were still online, though just barely. She crouched down to there level to address them.

"Go ahead and recharge. You need it. I'll start making the house more accessible for you and begin cleaning out the med bay." Mirage didn't need to be told twice. He stumbled over to a pillow that had been knocked on the floor and fell on it. He was in recharge in seconds. The others however were apparently more stubborn.

"Don't stress your arm. In fact, just don't use it." Ratchet stated. Aria smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"Thank you for all that your doing for us." That came from Optimus. He was leaning against the leg of a coffee table to keep himself up right. Elita 1 was leaning on his side for support.

"We're sorry about your arm. We never meant for that to happen." She murmured.

"I know. Recharge, all of you. You'll be safe here." She said soothingly. She offered her good hand to them and lifted them up to the couch. They instantly settled down on the cushions and drifted off to recharge, only slightly slower that Mirage.

* * *

Aria was smiling. Her arm was bound and pretty much useless and she had a hoard of tiny transformers living in her house. She couldn't have been happier.

Glancing at the clock she noted that the time was now five thirty two. It had only taken four hours for her life to turn completely upside down.

A low growl brought her out of her thoughts. Jinx was hunched on the floor a few feet away from her, glaring at the recharging bots. Her ears were flat and her hackles were raised.

She turned her narrowed eyes towards Aria and gave another low growl before using her tail to motion to the prone figures.

"When I said they were special, them coming to life was not what I had in mind."

Jinx jabbed her nose toward Aria's bandaged arm and gave another growl, this one sounding feral.

"It's a bad burn, yes. But I have been through worse." Aria raised and eyebrow at the cat. "And what would you have done if you were dropped in another dimension, put in a body that's barely the size of your finger, and then have water dumped on you by the resident life form? Don't tell me you wouldn't have attacked as well."

Jinx's ears remained flat, but her hackles lowered. She gave an annoyed swish of her tail.

_That's not the point._ Aria translated correctly.

"I believe it is." She said good humouredly. " Besides. My tolerance for pain is amazing thanks to how many times you attack me when I'm late with your dinner."

Jinx gave an indignant yowl.

"Thank you for not attacking then today." She said more seriously. "The rule still stands that they are not to be harmed. They're our boarders now."

Another annoyed swish of the tail was all she got as a reply.

Aria smiled once again, looking down at her beloved cat and her new guests. Despite the pain in here arm, she really thought that them showing up was a good thing. She wasn't alone anymore. She knew it sounded selfish, considering what the Autobots must be going through right now, but she was happy none the less.

She also finally acknowledged the fact that they were real. _Hallucinations didn't cause third degree burns _she thought wryly.

So she wouldn't be taking the medication. She never trusted it enough to take more that two full doses over the past two years anyway. Why take something that will numb the pain when the side effects may result in you never waking up?

She quickly shook that thought away, refusing to dwell on the negative. Talking to herself as much as to Jinx, she began listing off things to do.

"I'll need to clean out the med bay first and get everything in there set up for Ratchet. I think we still have the doll sized hospital furniture that Elvira used to play with when she was a kid. It should work. I'll need to make the house more accessible for the others as well. Something on the doorknobs for easy use, steps and ladders for the furniture etc. I'll need to jury rig something to make going up the stairs easier for them as well." She mused.

"I'll need to get anything potentially dangerous out of the shed and **far** away from Wheeljack. He means well, but still."

Ticking off the list in her head, she sighed.

_This is going to be difficult with only one arm _she thought to herself.

Glancing around once again, she decided that they wouldn't wake up if a bomb went off. She went over to the stereo near the entertainment center. She might as well have music while she worked.

Once the music started, she gave a slight start, and them began laughing to the point of tears at the irony. The song I'm Not Crazy flowed out and filled the house.

Aria looked up at the ceiling as she went to get the cleaning supplies for the second time that day.

_Primus is laughing at me..._


	6. Stalking

**Chapter 5: Stalking**

One by one the bots started coming back online. Looking around at their surroundings disjointedly, they panicked slightly. Red Alert gave a small shriek and grabbed onto Mirage, much to the mechs' annoyance. They calmed down however, when their processors brought up the circumstances of their new location, and living arrangement.

"How long do you think we were in recharge?" Blaster asked no one in particular.

"No clue. Internal clock's slagged." Hound replied cheerfully.

"Yah make it soun' like ah good thing." Ironhide grumbled. Most of the bots who didn't fear the wrath of his cannons chuckled at his expense.

"WheredoyouthinkAriais? Thatishernameright? Doyouthinkherarmisanybetter?"

"I don't know where she is Blurr, yes her name is Aria, and no, her arm wouldn't have gotten better in such a short time." Jolt answered. He paused for a moment. "We couldn't have been in recharge that long, right?" Most of them looked to Ratchet.

"I have no idea. This **is** one of Wheeljack's experiments. I never got the chance to give anyone a maintenance checkup."

Ideas were thrown around of what the side affects from the explosion could be. The favorite of the twins was that the radioactivity would corrode their internals from the inside out. It was just to make Red Alert panic but considering it was Wheeljack, it might actually happen.

"You're awake now."

Most of the bots jumped and turned to look at Aria. They had not heard her walk in, much to the annoyance of the Special Ops mechs, and her sudden statement had startled them. Her clothing was relatively the same as before. Loose pants and long sleeve shirt, only now in a deep blue color and her hair was in the same style. What drew their attention the most, and the concern of the medics, was how pale she was. She looked exhausted and drained, like she was barely able to stay up right. Her face was drawn and tight from trying to keep a pained expression off her face. She was leaning against the door frame for support.

"I was beginning to worry about all of you. You've been asleep for a long time."

"How long were we out?" Arcee asked.

"Seventy two hours. It night time on the third day now." She replied tiredly. That surprised most of them. They were in recharge for that long?! But that did explain why it was dark.

"I finished cleaning out the med bay. I also set things up to be a bit more accessible for all of you." She mumbled. Her eyes half closed as she looked at them, but she forced them back open.

"Have you recharged at all?" demanded Ratchet.

"…No."

"Why the frag not?"

"I had to get everything set up for all of you."

"You shouldn't have stayed awake for seventy two hours! You're injured and need rest!" First Aid exclaimed.

"The pain in my arm wouldn't let me sleep." She mumbled tiredly. "Sense I was awake I made use of the time."

All of them watched as she held her injured arm closer to her body in a loose grip. Guilt tinged their thoughts once again at the sight of the pain they had caused her.

"You need to at least try to recharge, youngling." Elita said gently. "You look like you're about ready to fall into stasis."

Aria's only reply was to shove herself off the door frame and shuffle unsteadily to the couch. Once there she just sat there for a moment, eyes closed.

"I made changes to the house and finished setting up the basics for the med bay. Feel free to go anywhere as long as you don't break anything." She paused for a moment. "Or blow anything up." She added as an afterthought.

"A'right femme. Weh got it. Jus' recharge." Jazz said with a chuckle. She nodded and lay down on the couch.

"Wake me up if you need anything." And with that, she was out cold.

* * *

They all just watched her recharge, or sleep as she called it, for a while. In sleep she looked peaceful, but to some of them it looked strained. Like she still tried to keep her face guarded and her pain to herself. It was confusing. For someone as young as her, she shouldn't have such defenses.

"What do we do now?" Bumblebee asked, breaking the silence.

"We go to the med bay and so I can give you all a maintenance check up." Ratchet stated. Grudgingly, they all followed Ratchet down the hall to the area designated to now be the med bay. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of bright green eyes followed, trailing silently at a distance.

Reaching the old storage space, the medics were shocked speechless. The old, dusty hole in the wall was scrubbed clean. Four medical berths of their size lined both walls with privacy screens at there sides. The back had been sectioned off into two rooms, the one on the right looking very similar to an operating room, and the other an office space with three desks well positioned to fit them all at once without being crowded. Small light fixtures had been added by screwing them into the ceiling and running the wires out of the way and to the front corners, which held light switches. The same in the back two rooms. All that was missing was a door to be set up at the entrance.

"I thought she said that she set up the basics?!" Blaster exclaimed.

"It is basic. There is no medical equipment. Still, this is much more that I expected." Ratchet mumbled, impressed. Jolt and First Aid's jaws were almost touching the ground.

"No wonder she's so tired. Working on this must have taken a long time." Prowl mused.

Shaking himself out of his stunned stupor, Ratchet hooked a thumb towards the berths.

"All right, everyone in."

A chorus of groans rose up in reply.

* * *

After many curses, mech-handling, and wrenches to the helm, all of the present bots were examined.

"There appears to be no side effects from the transfer of dimensions." Moonracer announced. Ratchet grunted in agreement.

"So it seems. We're getting low on energy though. Since I highly doubt that energon exists here, we'll have to find a new source of fuel."

"Should we ask Aria?" Ultra Magnus inquired.

"No. Not now anyway. She needs her rest more than we need fuel at the moment." replied Optimus. The femmes agreed immediately.

"She will not be disturbed at all mechs." Firestar said pleasantly, examining her guns all the while. Holding their servos in the air, the mechs backed away. Femme's were always protective of each other, more so since the war started and so few of them were left. Apparently that protectiveness had gone out to Aria as well.

"We're going to go look around. She said she made other changes, and we want to see them!" Sideswipe exclaimed excitedly. Bluestreak, Blaster, Jazz, and Bumblebee stood behind them looking eagerly for permission. Sunstreaker just leaned against the wall looking annoyed.

"Very well." Optimus conceded. "But do not destroy anything. Do not forget that we are guests in her home." he reminded.

"We get it don't worry Prime! We'll be very careful and make sure we keep Wheekjack away from all technology so he doesn't blow anything up until she wakes up." Bluestreak yelled after him as he ran off with the others. The Dinobots and the femmes followed shortly after, curious about the house as well. Jazz and Mirage however, stayed slightly longer.

"Weh'll go an' scout da place jus' 'n case. Catch yah later Boss Bot." With that they were gone.

The green eyes glowing from the shadows of a fern surveyed the remaining bots with lazy interest. They wouldn't be any fun. At least not yet anyway. Dismissing the them for later; the eyes glided through the shadows after the others, narrowing in the anticipation and excitement of the hunt.

* * *

The Autobots were impressed. Aria had put pulleys on all the door knobs so that they could open them easily. Miniature stairs and ladders were in all of their rooms and on the main furniture in the house. She had even rigged a lift on the left side of the stair well. It was crude by all standards, but it worked and they could get up and down the stairs much faster.

"This is so cool!" Sunstreaker looked at his twin as if he had two helms.

"How is this cool? We're in another dimension and we're no more than six inches tall."

"This place has some cool stuff bro. You gotta admit that. Think of all the pranks we could do!" The idea was somewhat appealing to Sunstreaker, but it did nothing to improve his mood.

They both froze when they felt a gaze on them. The idea that somebot was watching then didn't bother them as much as the malice they felt in the gaze. Slowly, they eased themselves so that they were back to back, blades drawn. They carefully scanned the area around then, but came up with nothing.

Something swiped at Sunstreaker's arm, causing them to lash out but miss. They scanned the area again with the same results. Nothing.

This went on for a few breems. Something would lash out from the dark and retreat before they could attack or identify it. Then it grabbed Side's leg.

It yanked it out from under him and started to drag him off into the dark. He struggled and attempted to stab his attacker, but he was being drug from behind. Sunstreaker grabbed a hold of him and yanked in the opposite direction. When they were both released suddenly, they tumbled to the floor in a heap.

As they struggled to get up and into a fighting position, a low rumble sounded from the dark. It tauntingly sounded like laughter. Then it was gone.

Looking at each other, they nodded their helms. They needed to find the others.

* * *

Jazz and Mirage were mapping out the upper levels of the house. They had done most of the rooms, minus Aria's. The femmes had caught them before they could go in, and told them to respect her privacy. They then started shooting at them when they didn't move fast enough.

They were making their way down the hall when a shiver went down their backstruts. They paused, looking around slowly. Scanning the area, they found nothing. But that didn't put them at ease. They could tell someone was watching them.

"I am picking up nothing on my scanners." Mirage stated.

"Ah'm not pickin' up anythin' eitha'." He frowned. They both knew something was there. There suspicions were confirmed when a shadow separated from the wall and lunged at them. They ducked quickly, coming up weapons drawn and scanners on full alert. But they found nothing.

They waited tensely for another attack, but it never came. The presence they had felt before was gone as well.

"Weh need ta find tha othas."

* * *

Optimus and the other officers who didn't feel like exploring had remained in the med bay. Their energy levels were getting low and they didn't want to waste any just yet. They nearly had a spark attack when the twins barreled into the room.

"Attacked! Monster in the dark! It tried to eat me! Me!" Sideswipe rambled in distress.

"What th' frag are yah talkin' 'bout?" Ironhide demanded. Sunstreaker hit his twin in the helm to shut him up.

"We were attacked and something tried to drag Sides off."

"Decepticon?!" Red Alert screeched. He was quieted by a wrench to the helm. Sunstreaker just shrugged.

"We couldn't see it and we didn't pick anything up on our scanners." Prowl's optics narrowed.

"Is this one of your pranks?" he asked icily.

"No!" they huffed indignantly as Jazz and Mirage appeared.

"What is going on?" Mirage inquired. Ratchet looked at the twins in disgust.

"Those slag heads claimed that they were attacked and nearly dragged off by something in the dark. They couldn't pick anything up on their scanners and they didn't see anything."

"Weh were attacked too. Nuthin' came up on da scanners, but weh did see somethin'."

"You were attacked too?" Optimus asked.

"Yeah. All weh could see of da fragger was ah shadow. He's fast."

"Was it a Decepticon?" Jolt piped up.

"If it was, it was Ravage. It walked on four legs." Answered Mirage. All were silent for a moment, before Ultra Magnus spoke up.

"I've commed the others. They're heading towards the living room. We had better meet them there." They all agreed.

* * *

In the living room, all the bot crowded together on the floor, watching Aria sleep. She hadn't moved since she had fallen into recharge. She had said to wake her up if they needed anything. They wondered if they should.

Almost all of the others had been attacked by the mysterious shadow. More than a few of them had nearly been dragged off, and none of them had been able to pick up anything on their scanners to identify it. Mirage had seen the most and that was only to say that it had four legs. It had never crossed their processors that Decepticons might have come through with them, but they were definitely considering it now.

"I think we should wake her up." They all turned to look at Cliffjumper.

"She's injured and she needs rest." Moonracer argued.

"Something is attacking us and she might know what it is." He countered.

"And if it's Ravage? How will she deal with that?" questioned Hound. Cliffjumper just glared at him.

"You will leave her alone." Ratchet stated firmly. "She needs rest. Anyone of you who tries to wake her will be met with my wrench."

"Whatever it is hasn't tried to harm us yet." Prowl mused.

"Hasn't tried to harm us?! We've all been attacked and I was nearly dragged off." Shouted Sideswipe. A wrench collided with his helm with a warning from Ratchet to keep his voice down.

"We've all been attacked," Prowl agreed. "but it's intention doesn't seem to be to harm us. It's playing with us." Everybot got quiet at that, not liking what it meant.

"I still think its Ravage." Bumblebee stated.

"It's not Ravage." All turned to look at Blaster.

"Huh?" they replied dumbly.

"It's not Ravage."

"How do you know?" demanded Firestar.

"Ravage doesn't have green optics." he stated bluntly, staring up at the top of a bookshelf. Slowly, they all turned to follow his gaze. A pair of narrowed green optics glinted down at them. A low growl came to their audios.

Chromia summed it up for them.

"Oh slag."

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. My teachers are obsessed with essays consisting of more than five pages and I've had writers block as well. I don't own transformers, only Jinx and Aria. Please review and if you have any ideas, PM me. I might use them.**


	7. Cooking 101

**Chapter 6: Cooking 101**

"Oh slag."

A snarl erupted and the green optics lunged forward. Touching down, they streaked towards the gathered bots. Said bots scattered like flies. Ratchet, First Aid, Jolt, and Optimus dove for the coffee table. Jazz, Blaster, Mirage, and the twins took cover behind a chair. The Dinobots threw caution to the wind and charged.

The optics dodged Grimlock's attack with a growl. Something long and thin lashed out and knocked him over. He wasn't really harmed, just stunned.

Turning their gaze towards the mechs behind the chair, they narrowed. Slowly, despite the roaring Dinobots, they stalked forward. And pounced.

The room erupted in chaos. The bots were yelling and attempting to shoot the elusive pair of green optics as the stalked and lunged, but to no avail. None of them noticed when Aria began to stir from the noise.

* * *

Aria stirred in her sleep, waking without any outward signs as she had done for the last ten years. She quickly took stock. Her whole body hurt. That was normal. Her arm hurt a lot more than normal. Third degree burn. Internals. At the moment still working. All in all, it took less than a minute. What had woken her?

She then noticed the noise. The sound of shouting and gunfire was like a miniature battle field. Opening her eyes, that's exactly what she found. The bots were running around, shooting, and screaming. Catching a flash of green in the dark, she knew the reason why.

Jinx

"**Bahuta hō gayā**!" (_Enough_!)

All of them stopped dead, looking almost guilty as she sat up. They hadn't wakened her before, so she decided that they hadn't wanted to bother her.

_Should've had the battle in another room,_ she thought wryly.

"What's going on?" she demanded. That proved to be a mistake when they all started talking at once.

"Monster!"

"Decepticon followed us!"

"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake-"

"Where did tha' fragger go?!"

She listened with half an ear as she scanned the dark for movements of Jinx. She found her as she attempted to slink out of the room.

"**Tuma tuma kahām****̐**** jā rahē haim lagatā hai**?" (Where do you think you're going?) she asked smoothly.

Most of the bots looked at her in confusion at the language switch. Jinx however, stopped cold and slumped down in defeat, understanding the Hindi perfectly.

Aria reached over and turned on the lamp resting on the side table. The room was washed in light, revealing everything.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Hound asked. Aria gave him a lopsided smile before turning her attention to Jinx.

"Come here." She said sternly. Reluctantly, the cat obeyed and sat at her feet. Most of the bots got into a fighting stance when they saw their 'enemy' in the light.

"I told you not to harm them Jinx." she said, eyes narrowed. Jinx meowed smugly, using her tail to motion towards the bots.

Translation: _I didn't. Take a look._

Aria did look. None of them had any signs of injury, just paranoia and battle rage. Great.

"Let me rephrase the order. You are not to harm them, stalk them, and/or terrorize them in anyway for your own enjoyment." Jinx yowled in protest, lashing her tail once.

"If you argue with me, you can find someone else to fix you dinner." The cat froze, narrowing her eyes.

_You wouldn't dare…. _

"**Ōha, lēkina maim karūngā." **(Oh, but I would.)

Jinx bowed her head in reluctant submission, flattened her ears in the process as she grumbled and glared at the nearest wall. Eyeing her up and down, Aria nodded, satisfied.

"Good. Now apologize." The cats' head jerked back up, fixing her with a disbelieving stare.

"You heard me. I told you they were guest and you treated them badly. Now, apologize." A low growl was the reply. Aria leaned back on the couch and looked down blandly.

"**Machalī mēnū banda hai. Agalā cikana hōgā."** (Fish is off the menu. Chicken is next) she said offhandedly. After a tense silence, Jinx walked stiffly towards Optimus. Tail low, she bowed her head and averted her eyes. Optimus had no clue what he was supposed to do.

"…You're forgiven?"

* * *

They had woken Aria up. I guess the sound of yelling and gunfire will do that. They weren't sure what Aria had yelled to get their attention, but it worked. They had all stopped panicking. When they had tried to explain what was going on she didn't really pay attention.

"**Tuma tuma kahām****̐**** jā rahē haim lagatā hai**?" she asked smoothly to the corner of the room. None of the bots had a clue what she was saying and were confused. The feeling then turned to idiocy when she turned on the light.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Hound asked. Their host gave him a lopsided smile before turning her attention the organic feline slumped in the corner.

"Come here." She told it sternly. Reluctantly, the cat obeyed and sat at her peds. Most of the bots got into a fighting stance when they saw their 'enemy' in the light. The feline itself was a slim with short fur. Half of its face was copper colored and the other half was pitch black, making its bright green optics stand out vividly. Most of it was black with streaks of copper blending in, almost elegantly, from head to the end of its long tail. Its throat and stomach were white, as were the bottom half of its peds. And at the moment, it looked as innocent as a sparkling.

They watched in amazement at Aria lectured the feline in what appeared to be two languages. The feline seemed indignant the whole time, then outraged when Aria demanded that it to apologize. It seemed to refuse until Aria said something else in that other language, before giving in.

Walking stiffly towards Optimus and its tail low, it bowed its head and averted its eyes. Optimus had no clue what he was supposed to do.

"…You're forgiven?" Being released, the feline stalked out of the room without looking back. Aria looked after it in annoyance.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble Jinx caused you. I gave her orders not to harm you, but I failed to mention playing was also off limits." She said apologetically. "None of you are injured?"

"Jinx?" Ultra Magnus replied dumbly.

"She's my cat." All were silent. They didn't want to tell her that they had been shooting her pet when she had only been 'playing' she thought. The longer she stared, the more uncomfortable they became. When Bluestreak started twitching slightly, she decided they had suffered enough.

"Is the med bay acceptable?" she asked Ratchet. They all looked relieved at the change of subject.

"Yes. It is much more than I expected. Thank you."

"You'll have to make a list of supplies for me, and I'll see what I can do." Looking over at Wheeljack she continued, "You'll have to make a list of what you'll need as well."

Wheeljack's ear fins lit up a happy blue. Before he could speak however, Ratchet broke in.

"I have given everyone a maintenance checkup and all of us are running low on energy. Since I doubt energon exists here we'll need a new source of fuel"

Aria thought for a moment. Giving them diesel just didn't seem right.

"Do you think you could try human food?" she asked tentatively.

* * *

"Do you think you could try human food?" she asked tentatively. Some of the bots stared openly in disgust. Human fuel?! Did she really expect them to eat human fuel? The others looked thoughtful.

"We will try it." Optimus told her.

"But Optimus—", Red Alert began only to be cut off by Elita 1.

"We are low on energy Red Alert. We need fuel. If human fuel works then we will use it." She said with finality. Red Alert slumped down, mumbling about how the human might poison them. Looking back toward Aria, the commanders nodded. They all followed her to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, she reached into one of the jars and pulled out a thin brown disk, about the size of their servos. Kneeling, she held it out towards them.

No one moved, unsure of who would try it first. Apparently, the Dinobots got tired of waiting. Grimlock shoved his way passed mechs to snatch the disk out of her hand, Sludge and Snarl right behind him.

"Me Grimlock hungry. Me Grimlock try brown thing." He stated, and then proceeded to shove the whole thing into his mouth. The others watched intently as he chewed, waiting for signs his systems rejecting it. They were instead greeted, much to their surprise, with a happy looking Dinobot.

"Brown thing good! Me Grimlock want more!" he demanded, stomping his foot for effect. This caused Aria to chuckle.

"How about I make you something a bit healthier? If your systems use food the same way humans do, a cracker won't last you very long." She told the impatient Dinobot.

"What do you mean it won't last long?" Jolt asked.

"Crackers are snacks. Short term energy if you will. They aren't meant to be used as a main source of energy." Aria explained as she reached in a cabinet and pulled out several bowls with her good hand. "I'll make you all something else if you can wait. It shouldn't take more than thirty minutes."

"What are you making?" Flareup asked warily.

"Quiche." Aria replied absently. "Would any of you like to help?"

A chorus of yes's responded.

* * *

About an hour later, the bots were covered in flour, dough, spinach, and cheese. Three bowls were shattered, another batch had been torched by Slag and Grimlock, the toaster was on fire courtesy of Wheeljack, and the kitchen was an unholy mess. To top it off, Aria herself was covered in flour. Bluestreak, Bumblebee, Flareup, and Jolt had turned on the mixer when she wasn't looking and flour went everywhere, even the ceiling.

Mirage and Sunstreaker, among others, attempted to scrap the food stuff off of them in disgust. The rest seemed cheerful or indifferent. All of them were silently thanking Primus when the timer dinged for the mini quiches to be ready.

After several tries, Aria managed to get them out of the oven with her good arm and burned hand. Handing them out, she watched as they were at first reluctantly and then quickly consumed. The look of rapture on their faceplates was almost comical. Aria chuckled to herself as she sprayed water on the toaster from the sink hose.

Once all had finished the food, they stood around awkwardly looking at the mess they had had. Who knew cooking could be so hard? The brave were about to offer to help when Aria took pity on them.

"Why don't you all head to the bathrooms and clean yourselves off? I can start on this." Without saying a word, half of them broke off and made a dash for the stairs, leaving behind the officers, Jazz, Wheeljack, the medics, and femme group.

"We'll help you clean up.", offered Arcee. Aria wished they hadn't. In their attempt to help, more bowls were broken, pans dented, **more** food got sent to the ceiling, and the dishwasher was spewing out water like a geyser. That alone took a great deal of time to fix after Wheeljack's _improvements _had been made behind her back.

Leaning against the fridge tiredly, Aria took stock. Only thirty minutes of sleep after three days, two hours cooking, and another to clean. Ha! They had barely made a dent in the mess from hell and she would have to wash the dishes by had until the dishwasher was fixed. Considering her arm was slagged and her hand burned, she wasn't quite sure how that was going to work. At least it couldn't get any worse.

Feeling a tug on her pants leg, she looked down at Prowl.

"The mechs upstairs just commed. They are attempting to work the knobs in the washracks and they claim water is going everywhere." he said, faceplates set in a neutral expression.

Aria thumped her aching head against the fridge. She was wrong. It could get worse.

"Wheeljack! Leave the toaster alone!" somebot yelled.

"I can fix it!" Boom!

A lot worse.


	8. Cleaning Drone

**Chapter 7: Cleaning Drone**

It was official. The Autobots were banned from the kitchen with **any** intentions of cooking or going near food….Frag that. They were just banned period.

It had taken their host nearly five hours to fix the kitchen with her injuries. It had taken three more to fix the mess from the bathroom and another two to clean up the aftermath of their 'battle' against the pit spawned Jinx. And she still hadn't recharged for more than an hour in the past seven days. The fact that she was still standing and functioning coherently was amazing.

The medics had been agitated over their hosts' lack of rest, and that intensified ten fold as they watched her ease a coat over her injured arm and pick up a set of car keys.

"You can't seriously be going out in your condition. You haven't recharged in a human week!" Ratchet all but yelled.

"I need to go get more food and replace the stuff that was broken. And blown up." she replied with a pointed look at Wheeljack though it wasn't very effective. She looked exhausted. Dark circles ran under her optics and her face was pale and blank. Her optics themselves looked aged, more so than when they had first met her.

"At least take somebot with you." Elita insisted, but Aria only shook her helm.

"I mean no offense, but I'm not taking any of you into a store that is solely for cooking. The only ones that I'll allow near anything that belongs in a kitchen are the ones that keep the rest of you in line. I'm not leaving them unsupervised."

"Can't it wait?" Bluestreak pleaded.

"No. Most of the food is gone so I have to restock. You all need to eat at least twice a day and humans regularly need to eat three. And if I don't feed Jinx regularly she'll either start killing things she finds outside or attempt to eat one of you." She stated matter of factly. The medics were taken aback.

"What do you mean humans need to refuel three times a day?" First Aid demanded. "You refuel less than we do!" Aria flinched at her slip up.

"I haven't had much time to eat. Just like I haven't had time to sleep." She replied tiredly. "Once I come back I promise I'll sleep and eat, but right now, I need to go."

They all watched as she opened the door and a cold wind rushed in, sending shudders down their frames. Aria only tightened her coat around her and looked at them once more.

"The next time I go out I promise that I'll take some of you with me, and we'll get some of the supplies you'll need to get started on building the dimensional bridge to get you home. I left food for you on the table. I'll be back in an hour or so."

And with that, she shut the door and left.

* * *

About an hour later, the bots lounged around in the living room, not really doing much. Jazz and Blaster were fiddling with the entertainment center, but they just couldn't get the slagged thing to work. Everybot found amusement in their cursing except one, who happened to be missing.

"Where is Wheeljack?" Prowl asked after scanning the room. All bots stopped dead in horror. Slag.

They quickly broke up into groups to find the explosive mech. Hopefully before he blew something else up. After a frenzied search, they found him in Arias' supply closet, tinkering with the machine she used on the floor. They think she called it a vacuum.

"Wha 'n da name o' Primus do yah think yah doin'?!" Jazz yelled at him, still slightly annoyed about not being able to get the entertainment system working. Wheeljack jerked in surprise and fell helm first into the wiring, flailing his legs as he tried to get out. Grumbling, Ratchet and Jazz pulled him out.

"Ah repeat. Wha da pit ah yah doin'?" Wheeljack rubbed the back of his helm and looked slightly guilty.

"I felt bad that Aria cleans all the time because of us. I thought if I made her a cleaning drone she would rest more." he mumbled sheepishly. All listening over the public comm link softened at this. Most of them agreed that their host needed a break from the chaos they were causing. That was probably why she didn't take any of them with her when she went out.

**: You can test it out in the living room: **Hound said over the public comm.**: The Dinobots just broke the lamps:**

* * *

After much pushing, shoving, and cursing, the modified vacuum finally made it to the living room. Wheeljack was tweaking the final few wires while everyone else backed away to a safe distance. Just in case.

Ear fins flashing excitedly, Wheeljack started it up. It went smoothly, started sucking up the shards of glass without a hitch. Everyone slowly emerged from their hiding places as Wheeljack bounced on his peds in delight.

"Frag me. Tha' actually works." Ironhide breathed in astonishment. About three klicks later, all pit broke loose.

Giving a harsh grinding noise, the vacuum began shooting out shards of glass in all directions. As it broke more things, the more ammo it collected. Lethal shrapnel whizzed past as they all dove for cover except the Dinobots. The charged head on, managing to singe it some before being taken out by the debris.

"How do you shut it off?!" Optimus bellowed at Wheeljack. The poor mech shook his helm violently.

"I made a remote, but it's not working!" he yelled back before ducking down to avoid a jagged piece of glass. The pit spawned thing was **aiming** at them.

None of them could get close enough to shut it off. They would all be injured or taken out by the flying debris. As the machine started running out of ammo, Blurr and Bluestreak attempted to dart in and shoot the wirings. The vacuum had other ideas. Tentacles shot out and wrapped around them, shaking them wildly before attempting to drop them in front of it to be sucked up. A shot from Ironhide resulted in a quick release and they scrambled once again out of reach, sporting dents and gashes. With its' prey out of reach, the vacuum settled for pulling out a mini-gun and shooting at them.

"You gave it weapons!?" The twins snarled at the inventor after being forced to dive behinds the overturned coffee table.

"No! I didn't! At least not intentionally!" he yelled in reply, flinching as bullets lodged into the area just above his helm. Why couldn't he make just one thing that actually worked without having to work out glitches that usually resulted in the mass destruction?

* * *

The Autobots were forced into defensive as the vacuum kept shooting. Hiding behind the overturned coffee table, Ratchet worked to patch up the mechs that had been shot down. The Dinobots were down, severe gashes covering most of their frames but thankfully missing the spark chamber and main energon line.

Concentrating on shrapnel lodged in Snarl's leg, he failed to notice an angry Jinx leap behind the table to avoid the gunfire of the vacuum. Hackles raised and fangs barred, she swiped at Ratchet knocking him to the ground. Growling, she gestured with her head in the direction of the rampaging vacuum, silently demanding an explanation.

"I don't have time for this!" Ratchet raged. Shoving her out of the way he once again began working on the Dinobots. "I have patients to attend to. If you want to scrap me fine. But do it after I fix my comrades. Now make yourself useful and drag the other wounded over here you pit spawned frag faced cat!" he snarled.

Jinx stood there for a moment, scanning the mech with critical eyes. Though Ratchet didn't see it, Jinx lowered her hackles and inclined her head slightly. Turning, she leaped out into the cross fires.

* * *

Ironhide hid behind a bookshelf, waiting for the vacuum to get within range. As it got closer, it somehow sensed him. Using a tentacle, it snatched him from his hiding place and slammed him into the wall across the room. As he struggled to recover, the vacuum crept forward, tentacles searching the ground. Just before they latched onto him, out of nowhere, Jinx flew at the probing feelers with a feral screech, clamping down with fangs and claws. The vacuum gave an angry rev of its engine and jerked the cat back and forth, aiding in the severing of its' feelers.

With a last swipe of claws, the tentacles finally severed and Jinx went flying. Rolling to her paws as she landed, she launched herself at Ironhide. Never breaking stride she grabbed him by the scruff bar and carried him to the shelter of the over turned coffee table, forced to dodge from side to side to avoid bullets. Most of the bots had taken refuge there at that point.

Dropping Ironhide next to Ratchet, Jinx took up position near the edge of the coffee table, watching the vacuums' every move. Ironhide got to his peds with some difficulty, grunting with the effort before glancing towards Jinx.

"Thanks fur the help." he said grudgingly. Jinx inclined her head in his direction before resuming her vigil. Her ears twitched back in their direction when Jazz, Flare Up, and Ultra Magnus cornered Wheeljack.

"How do you turn it off?" They demanded in sync. Wheeljack cowered beneath the glares almost everybot was shooting in his direction.

"If I can get to the system I installed on the front, I can shut it off manually." he replied pitifully. "But we can't get anywhere near it, even with the tentacles gone."

Plans were thrown back and forth, most being slapped down by Prowl or Optimus as too dangerous. No one noticed the calculating look Jinx shot between them and the rampaging vacuum.

* * *

Three tactical failures later, the bots were once again gathered behind the coffee table. Energy levels were running low and injuries were piling up, though nothing had proved to be fatal. The bots were getting desperate.

"We need to offline that thing now!" Moonracer exclaimed. "It'll attack Aria if we don't. She doesn't need anymore injuries to add to the ones we gave her."

"How?" snarled Cliffjumper. "We've tried everything."

"Just let the femme come back." Sunstreaker sneered. "She's big enough to deal with it and a few bullets." The others retorts were cut off by a low growl. Turning, they saw Jinx glaring at Sunstreaker, head down and fangs bared.

Sunstreaker stared at the cat with disgust and distaste. "Unless you have a better idea, cat, that's the only option left."

Noting the position of the vacuum, Jinx spun around and hit both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe into its path with her back legs. Sideswipes indignant cry of 'Why me?!" was ignored. The vacuum, sensing them, gave chase as Sunstreaker cursed cats, organics, and Wheeljack to the pit.

Nodding in satisfaction that the vacuum was distracted, Jinx picked Wheeljack up by the scruff bar before the others could react.

"Hey! What are you doing? Put me down!"

Keeping an eye on the vacuum, she raced toward the bookcase, keeping close to the wall and out or the vacuums range. Jumping from the back of the couch, she perched on the top of the bookcase, waiting for the vacuum to come closer. Wheeljack struggled in her grasp, resisting being jerked around as she ran.

Once Sunstreaker and Sideswipe lead the vacuum close enough, she pounced. Twisting in mid-air, she landed on the front of the vacuum, caging Wheeljack in and keeping him in place as he quickly began to take apart the hard drive. The vacuum gave an angry rev of its engine and attempted to shoot them off. Bullets grazed Jinx but she held on, protecting Wheeljack as he worked. Yowling at the top of her lungs, she helped Wheeljack by ripping wires with her claws.

With a dying shriek, the vacuum crumbled to the floor. Jinx dragged Wheeljack away as it convulsed a few moments before going still. For good measure, Ironhide, Chromia, Jazz, Blaster, Cliffjumper, and Firestar shot it a few times.

Limping heavily, Jinx dragged Wheeljack over to Optimus and dropped him in a heap at his peds. Looking him in the optics, she nodded her head with what looked like a smug smile on her face.

Jazz slapped Jinx on the shoulder, a huge grin on his faceplates. He didn't notice the flash of pain in her eyes or the barely concealed flinch.

"Wha didn' yah do tha' earlia'?" She stared at him blankly for a moment, head tilted slightly to the side. Sighing heavily, she let herself collapse to the ground to relieve some of the strain on her injuries. Only then did they notice the blood seeping out of her fur.

"That's why." Jolt pointed out unhelpfully. When the medics tried to access her wounds she pushed them back with a paw. Grumbling, she propped herself up with her front legs.

"Uhhh, how long did Aria say she would be gone?" Hound asked.

"An earth hour." Mirage replied. "Why?"

"Look around."

For the first time since the vacuum went rogue, the bots really looked at the damage. Bullet holes, shrapnel, and dents filled the walls and furniture. Windows were cracked; pictures were broken on the floor. The couch and chairs looked like somebot crazy went at them with a knife, not counting the once that had been knocked over. The carpet was singed and melted in places. The entertainment system was, somehow, untouched. A big contrast to the coffee table that was on its side, the surface almost unrecognizable from bullets, burns, and scars. In the middle of all of this, the remains of the vacuum lay on its side, ripped wiring scattered around it.

Ultra Magnus was the first to break the silence.

"Oh slag."

"Aria is going to offline us." Bluestreak said nervously.

"Or kick us out." Sideswipe put in unhelpfully.

"We need to clean up what we can." Arcee whispered frantically. "We must still have _some_ time left."

Just then they heard a door opening and the jangling of keys.

"Guys, I'm back!"

* * *

Aria walked into the house, arms full of grocery bags. Placing them on the floor she rubbed her injured arm. The pain had dulled to a throbbing ache that matched the rest of her body, but it was still tenderer than the rest of her.

"Guys, I'm back!"

Dragging the bags to the kitchen she looked around for any signs of tampering or cleaning. Satisfied that her kitchen was untouched, she began to put groceries away. After a minute she paused, frowning. After coming back with food, Jinx would normally be in the kitchen staring holes in her back until she was fed.

With a sinking feeling, she walked towards the living room.

"Hello? Where is everyone?" Reaching the doorway she stopped dead. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The living room was completely trashed. Well, shot up was more accurate, and in the middle of it all was the remains of her vacuum. The bots were running around, frantically trying to clean up what they could. Jinx was with them, limping around dragging debris and apparently trying not to drip too much blood on the carpet. She must have made a sound because they all stopped and looked at her guiltily. Bumblebee tried to hide the debris he was holding behind his back.

Wheeljack was pushed forward by the twins, Ironhide, and Blaster. He shrank down when she looked at him. He rubbed his helm awkwardly and his ear fins flashed pink as he talked.

"I, ahh….I made you a cleaning drone."

She stared at him for a long time, long enough to make them all fidget, even Jinx. After looking around the room one more time she put her hand to her face and bent her head, making it impossible to see her face behind her bangs. She began to shake.

The bot were afraid that she was crying and that they had really gone to far this time. Some of the femmes went forward to comfort her but stopped in their tracks when they heard her laughing. It was quiet at first, like she was trying to hold it in. That didn't last long. Soon enough, she was leaning against the doorway for support and laughing at the top of her lungs.

"A cleaning drone!"

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. I just got out of the hospital and had to catch up on all of the school work first. Enjoy!**


End file.
